If someone told you months ago that a debt deal was on the table, and that it included no revenues and all cuts, which party would you say backed it? Welcome to the Reid Plan, the Democrats’ present best hope against the Boehner plan (which also includes no new taxes, and aims for spending cuts equal to any debt ceiling hike). As Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn says, “The Democrat’s line in the sand is inside the GOP tent.” It’s our top story tonight. Corn and Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman are here to discuss.
Plus, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Tea Party Caucus and the Financial Services committee, is here to defend the Tea Party’s point of view. We’ll ask him how he likes the current GOP proposal, and if the Tea Party is willing to risk default in the debt ceiling standoff.
Then—“Never say never?” That’s what former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had to say about a run for President. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—who’s insistent he’s not running for President—is back in Iowa today. Meanwhile, the latest polls still show no clear star in the GOP field. We’ll talk it over with former RNC Chair Michael Steele and The Center for American Progress’s Jennifer Palmieri.
And we’ll talk about Friday’s devastating massacre in Norway. What led Anders Behring Breivik to commit such a heinous crime? We’ll take a close look at the state of anti-immigration extremism in Europe and in the U.S. with Brian Levin, Director of the Cal State Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.